Rates last updated: 22 October 2026 · How we verify
Dependent Relative Tax Credit: Can You Claim for Parents Living Abroad?
Money you send home isn't a tax deduction in Ireland. The main exception is the Dependent Relative Tax Credit, and your parent or in-law doesn't have to live in Ireland for you to claim it.
- The Dependent Relative Tax Credit is €305 a year for each qualifying relative you maintain (it was €245 for 2022, 2023 and 2024).
- A widowed mother or father qualifies whatever their health; other relatives qualify if old age or infirmity stops them supporting themselves.
- Revenue states plainly that the relative does not have to live in Ireland, and you can claim the current year plus four years back.
Check what else you're owed with our tax refund calculator.
Can you get tax relief for money you send home?
- Not as a general rule: sending money to family abroad doesn't reduce your Irish tax on its own.
- The main exception is the Dependent Relative Tax Credit: €305 a year (€245 for 2022–2024) per qualifying relative you maintain at your own expense.
- Medical bills and health insurance you pay for a relative can also qualify for relief.
- Remittances to a healthy relative get nothing. Money to a working brother, or to parents who are married and in good health, doesn't qualify. The credit is tied to who the relative is and why they can't support themselves, as set out in Revenue's guidance.
- "At your own expense" means everyday living costs. Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual 15-01-27 defines maintaining a relative as "financially maintaining the dependant relative by meeting their every day living costs": food, rent, utilities, care.
- It's a tax credit, not a deduction. €305 comes straight off your tax bill. It's worth the same at 20% or 40%, but you need to have paid at least that much income tax in the year.
How much is the Dependent Relative Tax Credit?
- €305 for 2025 and 2026, and €245 for each of 2022, 2023 and 2024 (Revenue).
- The relative's own income must stay at or under a limit that rises each year: €18,548 for 2026 and €18,028 for 2025 (TDM 15-01-27).
- If their income goes over the limit, the credit for that year is nil.
| Tax year | Credit per relative | Relative's income limit |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | €245 | €16,156 |
| 2023 | €245 | €16,780 |
| 2024 | €245 | €17,404 |
| 2025 | €305 | €18,028 |
| 2026 | €305 | €18,548 |
- All of the relative's income counts. Revenue says this includes social welfare payments, pensions and deposit interest. For a parent abroad, add up everything they receive in the year and convert it to euro at a published rate for the year, noting the rate you used (our currency converter covers the main ECB currencies; for naira, shillings and others use the home central bank's rate).
- There's no taper. A relative with €18,000 of 2025 income gets you the full €305; one with €18,100 gets you nothing.
- 2022 closes on 31 December 2026. Under the four-year rule, this is the last year you can claim 2022's €245 per relative. After that, the earliest open year is 2023.
Who counts as a dependent relative?
- A relative of yours, or of your spouse or civil partner, who is incapacitated by old age or infirmity from maintaining themselves (Revenue).
- A widowed mother or father (or a parent who is a surviving civil partner), incapacitated or not.
- A son or daughter who lives with you and whose care you depend on because of your own old age or infirmity (TDM 15-01-27).
- Any relative who can't support themselves through old age or infirmity. A parent, aunt, grandparent or sibling can qualify, but only if age or illness, not just low income, stops them maintaining themselves.
- A widowed mother or father, regardless of health. If your father died and your mother is a widow, she qualifies even if she is healthy and 58. The same applies to your spouse's widowed parent. Her income still has to be under the year's limit.
- Your in-laws count. The relative can be your spouse's or civil partner's, so a father-in-law in Nairobi or a widowed mother-in-law in Accra can be claimed by you, if you are the one maintaining them.
- A son or daughter only in one situation. You generally can't claim for your own child, unless they live with you in Ireland and you depend on their care because of your old age or infirmity.
Can you claim for parents living outside Ireland?
- Yes: Revenue's page says the relative does not have to live in Ireland.
- The only exception is a son or daughter you depend on, who must live with you here.
- If the relative lives outside the State, the Tax and Duty Manual says you must be able to prove that every condition is met.
That proof is where claims for parents abroad succeed or fail. In two recent Tax Appeals Commission cases about relatives "back home", the claimants lost: in one the transfer records didn't identify the recipients and there was no evidence of the relatives' incapacity or income; in the other one relative's hospital letter didn't show they were permanently incapacitated and another had no documents at all, and Revenue's €348.35 claw-back was upheld.
- A widowed parent abroad is the cleanest claim. The law has no health test for a widowed parent; you need proof of relationship, widowhood, their age (Revenue asked for it in a 2025 appeal), their income and your payments. Revenue's manual paragraph on relatives abroad lists incapacity among the conditions, so if your parent is also frail, keep a doctor's letter too.
- A parent who is ill or frail needs medical evidence. For an incapacitated relative, Revenue expects you to show that old age or infirmity stops them from maintaining themselves. A hospital letter saying the relative can be unable to perform chores was not enough in 2025.
What if you and your siblings all send money?
- The credit is shared: joint maintainers split it in proportion to what each spends on the relative's maintenance (TDM).
- One relative never gives more than one full credit in total.
- Three siblings paying equally. If you, your brother and your sister each pay a third of your widowed mother's costs in 2025, each of you can claim a third of €305, which is about €101.67 each.
- Unequal shares. If you pay 60% and your sister in London pays 40%, your share of the 2025 credit is 60% of €305, which is €183.
Worked example: a nurse in Galway supporting two relatives
- A nurse who maintains a widowed mother and an incapacitated father-in-law for 2022 to 2025 can claim €1,040 per relative, €2,080 in total.
- That holds as long as both relatives stay under each year's income limit and she has the evidence.
Starting data. Adaeze is a staff nurse in Galway, Irish tax resident since 2021, paying well over €1,000 income tax a year. She sends money every month to her widowed mother in Lagos, and to her husband's father in Nairobi, who has been unable to work or look after himself since a stroke in 2021. She has never claimed the credit. It's October 2026, so 2022 to 2025 are open.
Assumed income of the relatives, converted to euro: her mother gets a small pension worth about €600 a year; her father-in-law has rent from a room worth about €900 a year. Nobody else contributes to either.
| Year | Income check | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mother €600 and father-in-law €900, both under €16,156 | €245 × 2 = €490 |
| 2023 | Both under €16,780 | €245 × 2 = €490 |
| 2024 | Both under €17,404 | €245 × 2 = €490 |
| 2025 | Both under €18,028 | €305 × 2 = €610 |
| Total | 2022 to 2025 | €2,080 |
Why each qualifies. Her mother is a widowed mother, so no health test applies. Her father-in-law is her spouse's relative incapacitated by infirmity, so his medical evidence matters.
If her husband pays part of his father's upkeep. Say Adaeze pays 70% and her husband 30% of his father's 2025 costs. Her share for 2025 is 70% of €305 = €213.50, and her husband's is 30% of €305 = €91.50. Together they still get €305.
For 2026, she adds both in "Manage your tax": €610 (2 × €305) through her payslips, if neither's income exceeds €18,548. Run your own years through the tax refund calculator.
What Revenue actually asks for
- Proof that you maintain the relative at your own expense, and proof of the relative's income.
- Unless they're a widowed parent, proof that old age or infirmity stops them supporting themselves.
- Revenue can examine a claim later, and the TDM says to keep your documents for six years from the end of the tax year concerned.
- Money transfer records that name the relative. Bank or money-transfer records showing regular payments to your relative by name. In the 2024 appeal, transfers that didn't identify the recipients were not accepted.
- Proof of the relationship. Birth or marriage certificates linking you (or your spouse) to the relative, and their ID.
- Proof of the relative's income. A pension statement or, where available, a statement from the tax authority in their country. In the 2025 appeal, Revenue asked for an income certificate from the relative's own tax authority.
- Proof of widowhood, for a widowed parent. A death certificate for the late spouse.
- Medical evidence, for an incapacitated relative. A doctor's letter stating the condition and that it prevents them maintaining themselves. In the 2025 appeal, Revenue asked for evidence of infirmity where the relative was under 66, along with proof of age.
- A completed Form DR1. Form DR1 asks for the relative's name, address, relationship to you, income sources and amount, what others contribute, and, unless they're a widowed parent, their date of birth and the nature of the infirmity.
How do you claim it in myAccount?
- For the current year, add the credit in myAccount under "Manage your tax".
- For 2022 to 2025, complete an Income Tax Return for each year; the steps are on Revenue's page.
- Current year (2026). Sign in to myAccount, go to PAYE Services, select "Manage your tax for the current year", then "Claim tax credits", and choose "Dependent Relative Tax Credit" under "You and your family".
- Previous years (2022 to 2025). In PAYE Services, select "Review your tax for the previous 4 years", request a Statement of Liability for the year, then "Complete Income Tax Return".
- On the return. On the "Tax Credits & Reliefs" page, select "You and your family" and then "Dependent relative tax credit", and complete the details for each relative.
- Paper option. You can also send Form DR1. It notes you must have paid income tax in the year to get a repayment, and that a refund paid into a bank account must go to one in the SEPA area.
While you're claiming back years, also check flat rate expenses for nurses, emergency tax and the rent tax credit for the same years.
Where do you start?
Start with the relative who qualifies most clearly, usually a widowed parent, and claim 2022 before 31 December 2026. Then add 2026 in myAccount.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
My parents aren't ill. Can I claim the Dependent Relative Tax Credit?
Yes, in two cases. A widowed mother or father qualifies whatever their health, and a parent who isn't ill can still qualify if old age leaves them unable to maintain themselves. In both cases you must maintain them and their income must not exceed the limit (€18,028 for 2025). If both parents are alive and able to support themselves, money you send them doesn't qualify.
My siblings and I all send money to our mother. Who claims?
You share one credit. Revenue divides it in proportion to what each of you spends on her maintenance, so if you pay half her costs in 2025, you claim half of €305, which is €152.50.
Does money for a sibling's school fees count?
No. School fees for a healthy brother or sister aren't maintaining a dependent relative, because a sibling only qualifies if old age or infirmity stops them supporting themselves. School fees get no Irish relief. If the fees are for an approved third-level course at an approved college, see our tuition fees relief guide.
Can I claim the Dependent Relative Tax Credit for previous years?
Yes, for four years back. In 2026 you can claim 2022, 2023 and 2024 at €245 per relative and 2025 at €305, through an Income Tax Return for each year in myAccount. 2022 closes on 31 December 2026.